Staff report
The Rowan Rampage used a dominating defensive effort to stay undefeated in the Central Carolina Football League on Saturday at Knox Middle School.
The Rampage didn’t allow a single first down in a 28-0 rout of the Catawba County Hornets.
Kevin Abrams picked off two passes, Lionel Vincent intercepted a pass and blocked a punt, and Mike McLain, Jay Lewis, Shawn McBride and Maurice Swaringen recorded sacks for the Rampage, which won its seventh straight game.
On special teams, Justin Davis had 180 yards on punt returns to give the Rampage great field position all afternoon. The Rampage started its average drive on the Catawba County 37.
D’Andre Hopper again led the offense, rushing for a score, throwing for a score and kicking four extra points.
Hopper was 6-for-13 for 97 yards passing and rushed seven times for 56 yards before backups took over in the fourth quarter.
Willie Hosch rushed 17 times for 83 yards to lead the ground attack.
Rowan drove 97 yards early in the game to take the lead. Hopper scored on a sneak behind left guard Dorsett Beasley.
Two more Rowan drives stalled in the red zone, and the Rampage settled for a 7-0 lead at the half.
Rowan’s Bobby Lee returned the second-half kickoff to the Catawba County 40, and four carries by Hosch set up a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hopper to Davis on play-action.
After Vincent’s blocked punt was recovered by Montré Ellis at the Catawba County 20, fullback Brandon Walker punched in a 9-yard touchdown for a 21-0 lead.
Backup quarterback Mike Mitchum directed a fourth-quarter scoring drive that included a 28-yard pass to Lee. Mitchum found the end zone on a short run behind a block by Garette Knight to close the scoring.
Rowan holds a one-game lead over the Greenville Seminoles and the Concord-based Carolina Eagles and has upcoming showdowns with both teams.
Greenville lost to the Eagles, while the Eagles lost to the Iredell Warriors.
Rowan plays at Greenville on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.